Rudder pedal adjusting mechanism



' Aug. 9, 1949.

2 Sheetrs-Shet 1 Filed oct. 11, 1946 J2 INVENTORS I ll l'lll'am A.Pic/(ens Freeman D'Vl'ncenf Aug. 9, 1949. w. A. PICKENS ET AL 2,478,546

RUDDER PEDAL ADJUSTING MECHANISM Filed Oct. 11, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INV EN TORS y Freeman .0 Vince/7f Jun/I'm A. PHI/(6N5 Patented Aug. 9, 1949 V 234785546 I x RUBBER BEDALJADJUSTINGrMECHANISM William" A."Pi'okens; San Diego, and" Freeman- DWin'cent? 17a 001121.; Califi,a'ssig'nors to Consul}- datd wlte Aircraft =G'0rporation, San Diego;Giiiifdamomoratiomof Delaware Am licatibn fictoherzll, 1946,,SerialuN0.7021388" This; inventionirelates'rto' airnlanexudderpedi als a'ndimore.particularly, to adjustingii mechanism therefor.

An objectof "the present invention lies in" the" provision of improvedradjusting: mechanism? for rudderipedals. wh'ereby thaoperatingl positionof 1 the:v rudder. pedalsow-ithih. the airplane may be readiiyctiangedlo Another; obj ect' oflthe invention is t'o. provide improyedmeansior.adjusting, the operating p osition of. rudder pedals. to. accommodate.pilots: havingsdiffrentlg lngtiis;

Anadditional object". of? the. invention, residesinotheprovision of;improved "adjusting, means for changingth'eoneratihg positinbfltwoco-agctirigl rudder pedals.v simultaneously, Without affecting; the.position :of the controhcables leading to rudder v A further. objectistlie. providingof "improved" adjusting means. fol: changing-.Ltheoperating, pp;- sitionofrudder. peda1s,..which a ciiustr'i'i'eni; may bemaderwh'ile the airplane islin flight andwith out interfering with .theoperation of the rudder pedals Qtisien objects and features. oftheinvention w-i1I'..be readilin apparent to, those: skilled in" theart'ifrom.theifoilowingespecification and "append ed drawingsillustrating; certain preferred" em b'odi'inent's in which: a o

Figureiisiavplanrview of arudder. controrsys temembodying therudderspedal adjustingmechanismofithepresentinvention; V

Figure 2-isi.a -.top.p1an view ofltheiadjustmentf mechanisms accordingsto thepresenti invention Ei'gure 3 iSarSidB e1evationa1.view;;

Figurais astopipl'amview, enlargedQofi'the. adjusting;.mechani$m with icertain partsbroken awayjfonclarityzoi'disclosure; and

Eigureofi is alsectional mow showingltiie gear ingsystemzemployedibythaadJDstihgmechaniSm 1' ofnthecpresent invention. c

Referring. more, particularly to; the. drawings therewis shown-in FigureLapairioflrudderipedah assemblies l0 and II which .areadapted, tonbedisposed in. the pilotiss compartment; imposition for operationiby. anoperator andI connected by; control. cables 5 l2 1 and; [3; toialusua'li rudder. I4}; withihe contrnli cable. IZYpassihg over a. mairr pnlleyflE and sLIitabI'e-pllllesrgJS, and-.lthacontroli cabies l 3=assing, were .main. pulley. I Iiandsuitiable pulleys:- IBQFY Eachsofltharudder. pedal; as; semblies, l0 and; H; are; adaptedlindividfialli to?operateithetrudderiflfl V i For, efiectinga ohangeinsthe. operating,Dbsi: tions 'of' the rudder pedal assemblies I0 and I1" 'z cl'imsr (01.2114+) 1 to; adapt' it'ito the length of the '1'eg of tl'i'e'pfliitthere are provided adjustingassemblies'fl and 22 which are supported ona" usual bulkhead -or other fixed portion of the fuselage: Each? of therudder'pedai assemblies i Wand l i are adapt ed through their respectiveassociated adjusting" assemblies '2! and 22410 be" individually andseparately adjusted as desired;

Since each of the rudder pedal-assemblies;- HF and i i and theirassociated "adjustingessembliesf 2! and 22 are similar inconstflctibnbutoneof them will be described, which here -will be the rudder pedalassembly I0 and its adjustment assembly-2i 7 The rudder pedal. assembly18 embodies a pair of usuai pedalsor" foot treads 23"-'and"23&-' eachfixedly; hunted" onand between a; pair ofspaced" eiongate'd verticalorside= members zvan'difi w-hieh in turn" are? pivotally mounted at?theii'fi app ehd's to a bracket25 supported by'a" gem WUsiiapedfixed"channehmember- 21. With? this" construction: the pedals 23and' 236K are adapted to be swingingly moved, this i pivotal movementbeing" about the pivot "of members 2 1- and'iZEf 7 Theadjdstiirgmechanism 2! for rudder assembly 19 comprises a"generallytriangular shaged? bracket 2'8 which" is rigidly" attached" tothe aircraft strhctureqin any well "known man ner':

bracket 2.8-;

The bracket' fia includes two horizontally? spacedarmszt and" 3H}With-the arm ii i bein'gg provided with flange portion' 3 I; which 7flange is riveted "or" otherwise" securedto a: bracamem ber'f to therebysupply; a further support for.

Disposed between the spaced; arms" 29* and 3f isa c'ontrol quadrant orpivotal member 32l'ha'v ing a wihgedportion and an elongatedipor= tiorr34"extending;centrally,therefrom: This'cerrti'a'i portion" 3 is'pivot'aliy, mounted at its: end

3? upon a? vertical shaft 361 is." supported;

shown) provided ithe'rein; andrpassed over pulley? I5 and thento the'rudderi4. A mounting g'gacket' 3 s 'supports pulley I 5 adj acentquadrant the pivot -provided"by shaftSfi, by ruddermed'al 235' throughmeans" to he hereinafter described will effect movementiof cable If To;secure movement oilthe opliosite cable: l3"tiiereiis" providd' a link"memberwi which" operativelymom Rotative movement of quadrant32'; about"7 nects quadrant 32 of adjusting assembly 2| to similar quadrant 32a ofadjustin assembly 22 to which is attached cable l3 in a manner similarto the attachment of cable |2 to quadrant 32. Therefore when quadrant 32is actuated by rudder pedal 23a, in a counter-clockwise direction, asviewed-in Figure 2, connecting link 4| will also be actuated to effectmovement of quadrant 32a, counter-clockwise, thereby moving cable i3 tooperate rudder M.

A pair of oppositely directed lever members 42 and 43 are also pivotedupon shaft 36, the lever members 42 and 43 respectively being providedwith horizontally spaced arms 42a and 42b, and 43a and 4% with one armof each being located on a side of the extended portion 34 of quadrant32 and at the point where it is pivotally mounted on this same shaft 36.Horizontally disposed connecting rods 44 and 45 interconnect the levermembers 42 and 43 respectively to rudder pedals 23 and 230., with theends 44aand 45a of the rods 44 and 45 pivotally connected to levers 42and 43 and with their opposite ends pivotally connected to the vertical(2); side members 25 of the rudder pedals 23 and.

Carried by the extended portion 34 of quadrant 32 is a shaft 46 the endsof which are smooth faced and with the portion therebetween threaded toprovide a worm. An annular bearin sur-- face 4? provided on extendedportion 34 of quadrant 32 supports one end of worm 46. with the oppositeend of the worm fitting into a recess :2; provided by the winged portion33 of quadrant Supported by the worm 46 for longitudinal movementthereon is an internally threaded nutlike member Elongated link members52 and 53 interconnect the two lever members 42 and 43 and the nut-likemember 5|, one end of each link member 52 and 53 being pivotallyattached to a lever member and the other end pivotally attached totraveling member 5|. Movement of nut-like member 5| on worm 46 will,through the connections described, effect pivotal movement of the levermembers 42 and 43, as will be further hereinafter described.

Mounted on the right-hand end of the Worm 46, as viewed in the drawings,is a bevel gear 54, the bevel gear 54 being rigidly secured on Worm 46by a pin or in any other well known manner. Rotatively mounted on shaft36 is an idler bevel gear 55 having teeth 56 provided on its undersurface which mate with bevel gear 54 and teeth 57 on its upper surfacewhich mate with a bevel gear 58. The latter bevel gear 58 is carried bya shaft 6| which in turn is rotatively mounted on upwardly extendingspaced lugs 62 and 63 which are integral with arm 29 of supportingbracket 26. Tubular member 64 is secured to an end of shaft 6| and formsa continuation thereof. Tubular member 64 passes through an opening in asupport bracket 65 mounted on channel member 21 and into the pilotscompartment. A knob 66 is secured to the end of tubular member 64 tofacilitate manual rotation of tubular member 64 and shaft 6| and therebyeffect rotation of bevel gear 58.

The operation of the invention will now be described:

When the pilot or operator of an aircraft equipped with the presentinvention desires to adjust the operating position of a pair of rudderpedals 23 and 23a to a position that is more comfortable and betteradapted to the length of his legs, it is necessary for him only torotate knob 66 which will effect a movement of the rudder pedals forwardor aft, dependent on the direction of rotation of the knob; rotation ofknob 66 is continued until the rudder pedals are disposed in the desiredposition.

As is obvious from the drawings, rotation of knob 66 will rotate shaft"6| and bevel gear 56 affixed thereon. Rotation of bevel gear 58 willeffect rotation of the idler gear 55 which mates with bevel gear 58; themoving idler gear 55 will then cause rotation of bevel gear 54 carriedby worm 46 to thereby effect rotation of worm 46 with a resultantlongitudinal movement of the nut-like member 5| upon the worm, withforward or aft longitudinal movement being dependent on the direction ofrotation of the worm 46. The nut-like member 5| moving along the worm 46will effect pivotal movement of the levers 42 and 43 about shaft 36through means of the connections therewith afforded by the link elements52 and 53. The levers 42 and 43 being connected to the vertical members25 of the rudder pedals 23 and 23a by connecting rods 44 and 45 will,when themselves rotated about their common pivot 36 by traveling member5|, cause a pivotal movement of the rudder pedals to the desired newposition. Movement of the traveling member 5| forwardly on worm 46, thatis away from the pilot, will therefore rotate levers 42 and 43 abouttheir common pivot 36 to rotate vertical members 25 about their pivotsto move the rudder pedals 23 and 23a forwardly and away from the pilotthereby placing them in operating position for the longer legged pilot.Movement of the traveling member 5| aft (toward the pilot) on the worm46 will rotate levers 42 and 43 in the opposite direction to effectmovement of the rudder pedals 23 and 23a toward the pilot, therebyplacing them in position to be operated by a shorter legged pilot. Theforward and aft positions that may be assumed by levers 42 and 43 areindicated in dotted outline in Figure 4.

It is here specifically pointed out that the adjustment of the operatingposition of the rudder pedals may be made when the airplane is in flightand even though flight conditions may be such that one of the rudderpedals is being held in a forward position, as when a strong side windis present. I

Adjustment of the operating position of the rudder pedals 23 and 23a maybe secured also by electrical means if so desired. The alternatearrangement involves the substitution of an electric motor 61, shown indotted outline in Figure 3, for the knob 66 and the long tubular element64. drive directly shaft 6| and rotate bevel gear 58 and thereby effectthe adjustment of the rudder pedals. The motor 61 should be of thereversible type to permit rotation of bevel gear 58 in either directionto obtain fore and aft adjustment of the rudder pedals. The motor 61 canbe controlled by a switch, not shown, disposed in the pilot'scompartment.

With the rudder pedals 23 and 23a disposed in the operating positionbest suited to the legs of the pilot, movement of rudder M in a desireddirection may then be secured by movement of the appropriate rudderpedal 23 or 23a. Movement of the rudder pedals 23 and-23a will effectpivotal movement of the quadrant 32 which will actuate the cables l2 andI3 to move the rudder 4. For example, movement of rudder pedal 23 by thefoot of the operator will move connecting The electric motor 61 will bearranged to rod 44 to rotate lever 42 about its pivot 36. Lever 42 willthrough link member 52 apply force on the nut-like member 5| to therebyrotate quadrant 32 in a counter-clockwise direction about shaft 36 topull on cable I2 to rotate the rudder l4 clockwise. To effect movementof the rudder H1 in the opposite direction rudder pedal 23a is movedforward to actuate connecting rod 45 to pivot lever 43 and effectrotative movement of quadrant 32 in a counter-clockwise directionthereby moving connecting link 4| downwardly to effect counter-clockwisemovement of quadrant 32a to provide a pull on cable I3 which will moverudder l4 counter-clockwise. It is understood that rudder assembly maybe omitted and only one set of rudder pedals provided for efiectingoperation of the rudder [4. case the cable l3 would be connected toquadrant 32 at a point opposite the point of attachment of cable I2, sothat rotative movement of quadrant 32 in opposite directions willprovide a pulling force on first one cable and then the other.

While certain preferred embodiments of the invention have beenspecifically disclosed it is understood that the invention is notlimited thereto as many variations will be readily ap-' parent to thoseskilled in the art and the invention is to be given its broadestpossible interpretation within the terms of the following claims;

What is claimed is: I

1. Rudder control mechanism comprising a pair of co-acting rudderpedals, means pivotally mounting said rudder pedals in operatingposition, a quadrant member, a shaft on which said member is pivotallymounted, rudder control cables operatively connected to said pivotalmember for movement thereby, a pair of lever members pivotally mountedon said shaft, connecting mean pivotally secured to said lever membersand said rudder pedals to join said lever members to said rudder pedalsto permit the latter to effect pivotal movement of the former, anelongated externally threaded member mounted for rotative movement onsaid quadrant and bodily movable with said quadrant, a nut membercarried by said threaded member and movable longitudinally thereupon onrotation of said threaded member, link means pivotally attached at theends thereof to said lever members and said nut'member to interconnectsaid lever members with said movable nut member whereby said levermembers when actuated by said rudder pedals move said quadrant member tooperate said rudder control cables, a bevel gear carried by saidthreaded member, a gear mounted on said shaft which mounts said quadrantmember and said pair of lever members, said gear mating with said bevelgear and being adapted to effect movement thereof to rotate saidthreaded member to move In this the nut member carried thereon relativeto said quadrant member to actuate said lever members to change theoperating position of said rudder pedals, and means actuable from aremote point to operate said gear.

2. Rudder control mechanism comprising a pair of co-acting rudderpedals, means pivotally mounting said rudder pedals in operatingposition, a quadrant member, a shaft on which said member is pivotallymounted at one end, rudder control cables operatively connected to saidpivotal member at the end opposite its pivotal mounting for movementthereby, a pair of lever members, pivotally mounted at one of their endson said shaft, connecting means pivotally secured to said lever membersand said rudder pedals to join said lever members to said rudder pedalsto permit the latter to effect pivotal movement of the former, anelongated externally threaded member, spaced bearing surfaces providedby said quadrant 'for supporting said threaded member for rotativemovement on said quadrant, a nut member carried by said threaded memberand movable longitudinally thereupon on rotation of said threadedmember, link means pivotally attached at the ends thereof to said levermembers and said nut member to interconnect said lever members with saidmovable nut member whereby said lever members when actuated by saidrudder pedals move said quadrant member to operate said rudder controlcables, a bevel gear carried by said threaded member, an idler gearmounted on said shaft which mounts said quadrant member and said pair oflever members, said idler gear mating with said bevel gear and beingadapted to effect movement thereof to rotate said threaded member tomove the nut member carried thereon relative to said quadrant member toactuate said lever members tochange the operating position of saidrudder pedals, a second bevel gear adapted to move said idler gear, andmanually operable means for actuating said second bevel gear from aremote position.

WILLIAM A. PICKENS. FREEMAN DVINCENT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,902,094 Page Mar. 21, 1933FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country I Date 99,858 Sweden July 18, 1940321,087 Great Britain Oct. 21, 1929 526,026 Great Britain Sept. 10, 1940668,292 Germany Nov. 30, 1938

